Iran set to make case against U.S.-imposed sanctions in international court

Iran on Monday will begin oral arguments in its lawsuit against the United States at the International Court of Justice in the Hague for renewing sanctions after President Donald Trump backed out of a 2015 between the two nations in May.

Although the United States reimposed sanctions after accusing Iran of not abiding by the the 2015 deal, Iran’s lawsuit against the United States is based on a deal signed between the two countries 60 years earlier — 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights.

That deal, signed shortly after the United States and Britain orchestrated a coup to topple the Iranian government in 1953, encourages good relations between the two countries and emphasizes economic cooperation. Iran is now arguing that new sanctions imposed by the United States violates several measures of the 1955 treaty and wants those sanctions removed, as well as compensation for damage they caused.

The United States has called the lawsuit “baseless” and accuses Iran of violating the 2015 agreement to scale back its nuclear program. Iran denies that charge and has cited several positive inspections from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

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The latest round of sanctions have proven to be unpopular in the international community.

The European Union says the sanctions affect many EU companies that do business in Iran.

And on Wednesday, United Nations Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy, a former Algerian ambassador who was appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council, said the sanctions were illegitimate and contribute to the economic hardship of everyday Iranians.

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“The reimposition of sanctions against Iran after the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal, which had been unanimously adopted by the Security Council with the support of the U.S. itself, lays bare the illegitimacy of this action,” Jazairy said in a statement.

He added: “These unjust and harmful sanctions are destroying the economy and currency of Iran, driving millions of people into poverty and making imported goods unaffordable.”

Meanwhile, Trump vowed in a tweet earlier this month to keep the sanctions in tact and escalate them later this year.

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“These are the most biting sanctions ever imposed, and in November they ratchet up to yet another level,” Trump wrote. “Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States. I am asking for WORLD PEACE, nothing less!”